By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

On July 22-23, a total of 100 players from the Classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018 convened at the University of Kentucky and Bryan Station High School for the 2nd Annual Kentucky Underclass Games Event.  The following is a look at the position players from Team Navy.  This is position analysis only.  Those players who also pitched at the event had their pitching featured in a previous article.

middle infielders

Austin Wise, SS, R/R, Butler HS, 2017
6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect ran a 7.22 60-yard dash and registered 83 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a slightly open stance with a short stride, good balance, uses lower half well, shows bat speed with good hand quickness, shows some power to the pull side, went 1-for-4 in game play with a single to left field. Defensively, showed some of the best infield actions of the event with soft hands and fluid footwork, good body control with the ability to throw on the move, accurate arm across the infield at 74 mph, high follow in 2017 class.

Ryan Smith, SS/RHP, R/R, Hazard HS, 2017
6-foot, 155-pound prospect ran a 7.75 60 yard dash and registered 82 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, good balance, generates some bat speed through the zone, went 1-for-4 with a bloop single to right field in game play.  Defensively, showed athletic infield actions, good footwork and lateral movement, hands are soft with a quick exchange, accurate arm across the infield at 77 mph.

Travis Faith, 2B, R/R, Oldham County HS, 2017
5-foot-8, 165-pound prospect ran a 7.59 60 yard dash and registered 80 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, short path to the ball, good use of lower half, shows occasional power to the pull side, went 1-for-4 in game play with a double to right-center.  Defensively, shows adequate hands with good body control, attacks the slow roller well, showed 73 mph arm across the infield with some accurate throws.

Joshua Owsley, 2B/OF/RHP, R/R, Bryan Station HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 160-pound multi-positional player ran a 6.90 60 yard dash and registered 77 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with medium length stride, long swing path, line drive type hitter, went 0-for-4 in game play reaching base twice on error, uses speed to put pressure on defense.  Defensively, he shows athletic outfield actions playing through the ball well, showed 82 mph arm strength with most throws accurate to the third base bag.  As an infielder, made all the plays and showed good lateral movement, quick exchange with 73 mph arm across the infield.

Zach Wegenast, 2B, R/R, Holy Cross HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 170-pound prospect ran a 7.72 60 yard dash and registered 76 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a long stride, limited use of lower half, went 0-for-4 in game play making contact in all trips to the plate.  Defensively, shows good body control with the ability to throw on the move from multiple arm angles, has a quick exchange, reached a top velocity of 76 mph across the infield on accurate throws.

corner infielders

Jacob Bates, 1B/RHP, R/R, Oldham County HS, 2016
6-foot-4, 175-pound prospect ran a much improved  7.15 60-yard dash with 75 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a medium stride, good use of lower half, line drive hitter with level swing path, consistently squared up the baseball in batting practice, went 0-for-3 in game play with two strikeouts.  Defensively, shows some athleticism around the first base bag, starts the double play well, 72 mph arm strength.

Jake McWhorter, 3B, L/R, North Laurel HS, 2016
6-foot, 210-pound prospect ran a 7.95 60 yard dash and registered 81 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, good balance, shows flashes of gap power, went 1-for-3 in game play with a double to right-center.  Defensively, shows soft hands, can improve footwork, accurate throws across the infield with 69 mph arm strength.

Austin Shepherd, 3B/RHP, R/R, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2017
6-foot, 180-pound prospect ran a 7.45 60-yard dash and registered 78 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, short path to the ball, generates bat speed through the zone, line drive type hitter, went 1-for-4 in game play with a single to right-center.  Defensively, shows average corner actions and hands, made some accurate throws across the infield with a top velocity of 65 mph.

Scott Vanderventer, LHP/1B, L/L, South Oldham HS, 2016
6-foot, 195-pound prospect ran a 7.62 60-yard dash and recorded 79 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, level swing path, line drive type hitter, went 0-for-4 in game play with a pull approach.  Defensively, average hands and feet at first base, 66 mph arm strength across the infield.

catchers

Derrick Kromenacker, C, R/R, Bullitt East HS, 2016
5-foot-9, 145-pound prospect ran 7.37 60 yard dash and showed his bat speed with 88 mph tee exit velocity. Hits from an open stance with a long stride, hands show some quickness, line drive type hitter, went 1-for-4 with a single to center in game play.  Defensively, shows quick feet behind the plate, solid blocking skills, increase in arm strength from previous event at 74 mph, pop times improved to 1.92-2.02 with some accurate throws to the bag.

Dalton Cornett, C, L/R, Knott County Central, 2017
5-foot-11, 140 pound prospect ran a 7.25 60-yard dash and recorded 74 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a leg kick, loose hands, good rhythm in swing, line drive hitter who has potential to develop some power with additional strength, went 0-for-4 in game play lining out hard in one at bat.  Defensively, recorded pop times of 2.08-2.20 with a top velocity of 70 mph, shows solid receiving skills, solid young prospect .

Paul Hamilton, C, L/R, Bryan Station HS, 2015
6-foot, 165-pound prospect ran a 7.97 60 yard dash and registered 80 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, loose hands show some quickness, good use of lower half, line drive type hitter uses all fields, went 2-for-4 in game play with singles to right and center. Defensively, shows fairly quick transfer and release, 66 mph arm strength on inconsistent throws to second base, pop times ranged from 2.13-2.30.

William McLane, C, R/R, Cooper HS, 2018
5-foot-11, 130-pound prospect showed above average speed for age with a 7.27 60 yard dash and registered 74 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with sort stride, minimal use of lower half, long and level swing path, went 1-for-4 in game play with 3 strikeouts.  Defensively, has room to improve footwork, showed 57 mph arm strength on throws to second base, pop times ranged from 2.52-2.64.

outfielders

Marcus Johnson, LHP/OF/1B, L/L, Bryan Station HS, 2016
6-foot, 185-pound prospect ran a 7.06 60 yard dash and recorded 80 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, good balance, hands are loose and quick, creates some barrel whip through the zone, went 2-for-4 in game play showing the ability to hit to all fields.  Defensively, shows good athleticism at first base, 77 mph arm across the infield, 81 mph arm from the OF with online carry, solid prospect and versatile player.

Tyler Pence, OF/LHP, R/L, Eastern HS, 2017
5-foot-9, 140-pound prospect ran a 7.89 60 yard dash and registered 77 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, line drive type hitter, took a good round of batting practice showing the ability to hit to all fields, went 1-for-4 in game play with an infield single and 3 strikeouts.  Defensively, plays through the baseball with a clean exchange, takes good routes to the ball, showed 68 mph arm strength on throws to third base with some accuracy.

Brandon West, OF, R/R, Spencer County HS, 2016
5-foot-8, 145-pound prospect ran a 7.46 60 yard dash with a significantly improved 76 mph tee exit velocity (72 at previous event).  Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, line drive type hitter with pull approach, went 2-for-4 in game play with 2 singles to left field.  Defensively, plays through the ball on the ground, showed 68 mph arm strength with mostly accurate throws to the third base bag.

Timothy Lancaster, LHP/OF, L/L, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2017
6-foot, 155-pound prospect ran a 7.70 60 yard dash with 69 mph tee exit velocity.  Hits from a tall stance, brings front foot back in load with a long stride, line drive type hitter, went 0-for-4 in game play with 2 strikeouts.  Defensively, showcased athletic outfield actions, made some accurate throws to the third base bag with 78 mph arm strength.